Dentists bound for Kenya

Dentists from Gaithersburg are preparing to travel to Kenya in February to set up dental-care programs for children and families in the Nyumbani Children's Home and Nyumbani Village.

Paul Niesen, who practices in Olde Towne, and Larry Fields, who recently retired after three decades of general practice in Gaithersburg, will lead a six-member team. The dentists will provide "desperately needed" care for 600 children and their caregivers at the home and village, Niesen said.

The children's home is an orphanage in Nairobi which cares for 100 HIV-positive children, he said. Nyumbani Village is a self-sufficient community of more than 400 children and 60 grandparents in Kitui, Kenya, founded in 2006 to reestablish family units and care for people with HIV and AIDS.

Niesen and dental hygienist Sara Grimes of Germantown are planning the trip. The team wants to establish a comprehensive dental program that will bring follow-up care to patients identified on the trip, he said.

Market season a success

The Crossroads Farmers Market in Takoma Park went out with a bang as shoppers emptied the stalls on the seasonal market's closing day last week.

One customer, Rhea Yablon Kennedy, raised more than $900 in donations for the market's "fresh checks" program, which gives qualified, low-income customers a $3 weekly subsidy for produce.

Her fundraising helped to boost the subsidy for 670 families to $5 for the market's final week.

"Farmers markets are a very vital part of communities, especially in urban areas," she said. "I had friends [donating] who were as far away as Maine who are never going to meet these people using the fresh checks program."

The number of families was so high that most vendors sold out an hour before the close of the market, organizer Michelle Dudley said.

Help for new businesses

A start-up lab for emerging businesses and entrepreneurs will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. next Thursday at the Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology, 9600 Gudelsky Dr., Rockville. The event, presented by Rockville Economic Development and the MIT Enterprise Forum, will give upstart businesses a chance to receive feedback from a panel of management, marketing, scientific and investment executives.

Leaf collection in Rockville

Leaf collection in Rockville has begun and will continue through December.

Residents should rake leaves to the curb or next to the pavement if no curb exists. Leaves can be raked anytime immediately before or during collection week. Limbs, rocks and other heavy objects should be removed from leaf piles, and leaves should not be placed in plastic bags.

A schedule and map can be found at http://www.rockvillemd.gov/residents/leaf.htm. For information, call 240-314-8570 between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.